Troy University's so called faith-based dorms opened in August. (Troy University)

TROY, Alabama -- Troy University has retained a religious advocacy and legal defense organization, the Liberty Institute, as well as one of the nation's most prestigious law firms to handle an inquiry over its so called faith-based dorms.

In a letter
sent Monday, the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers denied on Troy's behalf that religious students were given preference for spots in the 376-bed Newman Center dorms.

The letter also indicated the Liberty Institute had been retained by Troy to assist in handling the inquiry.

The institute provides free legal assistance to religious groups and people who believe they are suffering persecution in the United States, including veterans and students.

Troy's senior vice chancellor for student services and administration, John Dew, said the Washington, D.C.-based law firm -- lauded by Vault as one of America's top 25 most prestigious -- and the Texas-based Liberty Group were retained for their expertise.

"We brought in nationally recognized law firms with expertise in the areas that touch on the issues about our residence halls to ensure we are complying with the law," he said.

The letter also denied resident assistants at the dorms were selected on the basis of their religions.

"In sum, neither students seeking housing nor students seeking resident assistant positions are given preference based on their religious views or activities," wrote attorney Brian Boyle on Troy's behalf.

"The university does not maintain any statistics concerning the religious affiliations or activities of students admitted to the Newman Center or any of its other dormitories."

The letter comes in response to an inquiry from the Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation that alleged the new dorms violate fair-housing laws and constitutional provisions guaranteeing the separation of church and state.

The letter contrasts with initial statements made by university officials regarding the dorms.

Senior Vice Chancellor for Advancement and External Relations John Schmidt told AL.com this summer that the dorms would give preference to students of Christian faiths. But the university later retracted that statement, saying it was not accurate.

Additionally, the university removed language from its website
stating that in order to live in the dorms students must be actively
involved in one of the campus' faith-based organizations, which are
predominantly Christian.

And Nicholas Cervera, an attorney for the
school, said in September there are no requirements that students
wishing to live in the dorms practice any particular faith, including
atheists.

While university officials had touted that the dorms' six RAs consisted of three Catholics and three Baptists, a spokesman for the university said today that was mere coincidence and that the RAs volunteered the information after they were assigned.

Opened to students on Aug. 9, the $11.8 million dorms were built by the school's private, non-profit fundraising arm, the
Troy University Foundation,
which will also pay for maintenance and management of the facility.

The foundation borrowed money from a local bank to fund the construction project, university officials said.

The
dorms include a 2,300 square foot Newman Center of Catholic
ministry leased by the archdiocese of Mobile.

The archdiocese is paying $17,000 a year for the space, which
includes an office for the local priest and a small chapel, said Cervera.

The university decided to build the dorms after polling showed
between 70 and 75 percent of Troy's students ranked faith as important in
their lives, Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. said.

According to the university, students who choose to live in the 376-bed
facility are required to "be respectful of diversity," engage at least
semi-annually in a community-service or community-learning project and
maintain a minimum 2.5 grade point average.

Alcohol and illegal drugs are forbidden, as they are in all of the university's housing.